The Singularity
by pachysandra
Summary: In the ten hours they spend stuck on an airplane together, Eren learns to get over his embarrassment. (A half-naked Levi might just have something to do with it.)


The metal wings of the plane jutted out like the raised arms of a madman racing down the street and about to be crucified. Eren immediately pulled down the cover of the window, hiding the patch of blue sky against the plane wall. There was something about the sensation of being 40,000 feet in empty air that made him want to vomit.

"Maybe you should take some sleeping pills," said Armin, his hand clutching a bottle of pills and ready to pop the cap as soon as Eren gave the word.

"Why would I need sleeping pills?" said Eren. He laughed a little too loudly.

"You've been _vibrating_."

"Maybe I just have a vibrator in my pocket. So what if I like to carry sex toys on the plane, huh?"

"I can't believe you'd rather say that out loud in a plane full of people than admit you're scared of flying."

"I am _not _that scared of flying," said Eren.

Armin just looked at him, leaning back against the seat and lazily crossing his arms in judgement.

"Okay, I _am _that scared of flying. But I'm facing my fears—I can get over it." He took a deep breath and faced forward, dramatically slamming his arms against the armrest and clutching them.

"You look furious. And also like you're about to have an aneurysm," whispered Armin with concern.

"I know," Eren squeaked out, still looking straight ahead at the back of the seat in front of him. "It's how I cope."

Armin's eyes lingered sympathetically on the crease between Eren's brows and the twitching of his jaw before he patted his shoulder and left the sleeping pills on the tray in front of him just in case Eren changed his mind.

When he noticed Eren's seat neighbor returning from the bathroom, he turned to Eren again and said, "Sorry, I have to go back to my seat now. But just tell me if you need anything, I'll be right there."

Armin pointed to a seat diagonally from him, next to Mikasa, and Eren nodded stiffly.

Armin stood up as the stranger returned to his seat, whispering an apology before leaving. The man just nodded in acknowledgement.

Turning his head to take one last look at Eren, he noticed that the man sitting next to him also looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. He was alarmed—this guy looked buff and angry and like he was about to snap.

Mikasa had evidently also noticed the angry-looking man sitting next to Eren: her eyes were narrowed in suspicion. She looked alert and ready to pounce in case he was dangerous.

Mikasa's caution and competence made Armin feel safer, but he didn't want to get kicked off a plane for the second time in his life. At least they were in the air this time, though, before they got in some kind of trouble.

Wait—didn't that make it worse?

"I need a drink," Armin said to himself as he went off to find a flight attendant with alcohol.

—

There was pee on the toilet seat.

Levi stood in the cramped doorway of the airplane bathroom, staring down blankly at the drips of urine on the seat and on the floor. He took a swift step back and shut the door, walking back to his seat and trying to ignore the pressure against his bladder.

He could wait another ten hours, he convinced himself. He _had _to wait.

A blond boy was sitting in his seat and got up as soon as he saw Levi, muttering an apology before leaving. Levi sat down and started rapidly tapping his food.

Three cups of coffee—two this morning and one right before his flight. He took a deep breath.

"Could you stop tapping?" said the boy next to him with restrained frustration. Levi's brow twitched in annoyance, but he stopped nonetheless.

He turned his head slightly and observed the boy from the corner of his eyes. He was young and had a boyish handsomeness to him, his brown hair all mussed up and sticking to his forehead, his lip red from what seemed to be nervous biting.

Levi's mild annoyance dissipated on sight.

_I'm so fucking shallow_, he thought, almost laughing to himself. The shake of his body from silent laughter put pressure on his bladder again—he froze, breath stopping.

_Fuck_.

He glanced at the boy again; he looked so tense, like he desperately needed to take a shit. A sense of solidarity bloomed within Levi—was this boy also in desperate need of a bathroom but too disgusted with the state of the toilets to use them?

_I feel your pain_, thought Levi. He forgave Shit-Boy's slight rudeness.

He leaned back against the soft cushioned seat, grabbing the book he left on the tray in front of him and opening it to the marked page.

Just as he turned the page he felt like he was being kicked out of his seat from behind—the entire plane jerked violently and he slid forward, his seat belt catching him before he fell. Eren seized Levi's forearm, gripping as tight as he could until his nails left half-moon marks on Levi's skin.

Levi looked up from the hand gripping his arm to the boy's face, his eyes widening as he saw the look of pure terror on the boy's face. The plane settled back into stillness, but the terrified expression was still frozen on his face.

"Hey," said Levi, his voice gruff but concerned.

Eren suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly pulled back his arm.

"I'm so sorry," he said earnestly, blinking as he regained awareness, his breathing still heavy.

"It's fine," said Levi.

"I just get a little antsy on planes," Eren said. He took a deep breath and loudly exhaled. Levi turned back to his book, which he just noticed had fell onto the floor, but Eren kept talking.

"It's like—I feel like I could die up here at any moment, you know? We're so high up in this—this giant metal _thing_. How the hell does it even fly?"

Levi said nothing, only staring back into Eren's manic eyes, unsure of what to say.

"I mean, I know how it flies. I learned that in school. But it doesn't feel right."

"…You want some pills or something?" Levi said awkwardly, prepared to reach into his bag and dump a bottle of Xanax on the kid's lap.

Eren shook is head in refusal. "I don't like pills—thanks, though."

After a few moments of silence, Levi assumed with relief that their conversation was over. He began to bend down to reach his book when Eren put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't you think the pilot should've said something by now?" said Eren, panic in his voice. He began bouncing his knee and tapping his foot, and Levi looked down at Eren's feet, humorously noting Eren's hypocrisy.

"What?" said Levi, looking up. He was met with Eren's wide blue-green eyes, almost innocent-looking in his worried expression, and it felt like the plane was jerking again and knocking Levi forward—except it wasn't.

"Shouldn't he say something about the shaking, say there's been some turbulence and to stay buckled and we'll all be fine or something?"

"I'm sure it's fine," said Levi. Eren looked unconvinced.

"But they're supposed to announce _something_, right?"

Levi's fingers were itching to break out the bottle of Xanax and offer him some again—anything to calm him down.

"I don't know. Maybe," said Levi. Just a hint of annoyance crept into his voice, barely perceptible—he didn't think Eren would catch it, but Eren turned to him with guilty eyes.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "I'm rambling. My bad."

Levi was just about to open his mouth and tell him it was okay when Eren said,

"I've just had some bad experiences with planes and—well, yeah. I don't think it's bad enough to call it pteromerhanophobia or anything, but I freak out easily. My mom"—his breath hitched, panic and horror gleaming in his eyes in remembrance, and he caught himself before he could finish—"anyway, sorry."

Levi swallowed and his entire body felt heavy, like he was tied down to his seat.

_"My mom—"_

Oh.

_Oh_.

"Planes do seem unnatural at first glance," said Levi. "Your fear's understandable."

"'Unnatural'—yeah!" said Eren. "That's the right word."

There was silence.

"Unnatural's not bad, though," said Levi.

Eren glanced at him, his eyes questioning.

"Cars seem unnatural. So do the internet and synthetic fabrics and 3D printers and robots, but those aren't bad things."

Eren thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so. You've got a point," said Eren. "Robots are fucking scary though," he said with a laugh. "I hope we don't get to that point just yet."

It took all of Levi's strength not to roll his eyes condescendingly. "Movies like _I, Robot _have corrupted all you brats," he said under his breath.

"What was that?" said Eren, offended.

"You're probably incredibly misinformed about robots and artificial intelligence," said Levi.

"Did you just call me a brat?" said Eren.

Levi shrugged nonchalantly.

"Robots _are _scary, all right? And technology is great, but how far is too far? Look at Transhumanism at tell me that's not some dangerous shit. There's a difference between that and 3D printers."

Levi's interest was immediately sparked.

"I'm not saying it's not dangerous," said Levi. "But to inhibit the development of artificial intelligence and other technology just because pop culture perpetuates this idea of some robot apocalypse is ridiculous."

He didn't mention that one of his best friends was a Transhumanist, lest that damage his credibility. (Hanji didn't exactly seem like a good example of stability and reliable judgement at first glance, even if she was brilliant.)

"The robot apocalypse is real and it is coming," said Eren with mock seriousness, "and I'm only 40% kidding."

At this Levi almost cracked a smile—the side of his mouth twitched, and he leaned back in his chair.

"How _do _you feel about artificial intelligence?" said Levi.

"Robots smarter than me? Hate it," Eren said immediately.

Levi scoffed, but his eyes crinkled with amusement.

"Hey," said Eren, "you know what, Stephen Hawking thinks artificial intelligence is dangerous too. You think you're better than Stephen Hawking?"

Almost laughing at that (it surprised him, how much enjoyment he was getting from this conversation), he smiled—well, as much as you could call it a smile.

Levi adjusted his seating position to better face Eren as they talked, but the pressure against his bladder made him still and inhale sharply.

"What's wrong?" said Eren with alarm.

"Nothing."

"No, what is it?"

"Just… slight pain in my abdomen. It's nothing."

"Maybe we should call a flight attendant," said Eren. Panic was creeping into his voice, and it reminded Levi of how easily Eren got anxious.

Levi gritted his teeth and sighed.

"I have to pee."

"What?" said Eren, brows furrowed.

"I have to _pee_."

"Oh," said Eren. "_Oh_."

He started laughing.

Levi didn't blush—blushing practically went against his beliefs—but he muttered a half-hearted "_Fuck you,_" which roughly translated into "I am embarrassed." Eren seemed to catch this and moved to apologize.

"I'm sorry," he said, still laughing.

Levi only glared at him.

"No, really, I'm sorry," said Eren. He was no longer laughing, but he couldn't restrain the smile on his face.

Levi forgave his rudeness a second time (if only because Eren's rude laughter was infinitely better than his panic and terror), and they settled into a comfortable silence.

"Wait—why don't you go to the bathroom?" said Eren suddenly.

"It's dirty."

"We're on this flight for another _nine hours_."

"It's _dirty_."

Eren turned and looked at him skeptically. Levi stared back, almost daring him with his eyes to say something else on the matter.

Eren held up his hands in defense, letting go of subject. "All right," he said, and they returned to their silence.

Levi closed his eyes, not opening them even when he heard a rattling noise.

Eren was grabbing the bottle of sleeping pills Armin had left for him, finally giving into exhaustion and ignoring his distaste for pills. He read the directions carefully before untwisting the cap and swallowing some, cringing at the taste and feel of it in his throat.

It was when Levi was almost asleep, on the verge of unconsciousness, that a pressure against his shoulder woke him up with a small gasp.

His eyes opened and saw Eren's head resting on his shoulder. He couldn't have been comfortable sleeping like that, but the boy looked thoroughly knocked out.

Debating on whether or not to wake him up, Levi decided to let him be; he clearly needed some sleep and tranquility.

Levi couldn't fall asleep like this now, though. He looked at his book on the floor, closer to Eren's seat than his, and tried to drag it closer towards him with his foot. It was too far away, though, and he gave up after a minute.

So he sat there for five hours, unmoving and with nothing to entertain him. His bladder still felt like it was being squeezed and his body had become stiff and sore from trying to stay completely still so as to not wake Eren.

He'd be damned if anyone called him cruel ever again.

When the flight attendant came around with alcohol, he almost jumped out of his seat.

"_Yes_," he said when flight attendant offered him a drink. The beer considerably lessened the tension in his body, and he tried to ignore the fact that he was drinking when he already had to pee.

Eren stirred next to him, and just when Levi thought he was about to wake up, he only slid down, head now resting on Levi's lap. Against his bladder.

Fuck this kid.

He looked down, really looking at his face directly for the first time without distraction. Levi wondered if this kid was even twenty-one. He was pretty, though—long eyelashes, tan skin, and soft, thick hair.

But it was his expression that really struck Levi. It was innocent in sleep, all the anxious creases of his face smoothed. He seemed genuine. Levi wasn't sure in what way, exactly, but the word "genuine" fit the him well.

A rush of fondness for the stranger swept over Levi, and he had the urge to run his fingers through that soft brown hair. He didn't, of course, because he did have morals, but the desire was still there.

Fuck this kid and his stupid good looks.

_Levi_ took a swig of his drink. Eren stirred again, looking like he was about to wake up.

Sudden amusement shone in Levi's eyes. He bent down and whispered in Eren's ear, "_The Singularity is coming_."

Eren's eyes flew open and his skull collided with Levi's nose as he moved to get up.

Levi groaned in pain, his hands cupping his nose.

"Oh my _god_—"

"What the fuck—"

"I am so sorry, oh my god, oh my god."

Eren rushed to get the baby wipes and tissues from his bag.

"Oh god, okay, let's go the bathroom and we can… do something," said Eren, cringing as he saw the small drip of blood trickling down Levi's face.

The two made their way to the bathroom, shutting the door and making do in the uncomfortable small space. Their bodies were nearly pressed up against each other.

"Fuck, I am so sorry," said Eren as he dabbed at the blood on Levi's chin while Levi tilted his head.

"What the _fuck_ is your head made out of?"

Eren's face felt uncomfortably hot, the back of his neck burning. Then his eyes widened in realization.

"Wait, was I sleeping on you?"

Levi didn't answer. His silence confirmed Eren's suspicion, and Eren's mortification increased tenfold.

Holding a tissue pressed to Levi's nostrils (Levi would've waved him away and done it himself, but the kid just looked so damn _guilty_), Eren opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a faint croaking noise.

"Calm down, Shit-Boy. I've been through worse than getting hit with your overly ossified skull."

This translated into, "It was an accident; I forgive you," and Eren was grateful.

_Wait—_

"'Shit-Boy'?" said Eren, head tilted with confusion.

Levi didn't realize he had said that out load, and he almost chuckled.

"You looked like you desperately needed to take a shit."

Eren looked like he was caught between offense, mortification, and amusement.

"Hey," he said indignantly, "_you're _the one that's had to pee for the last six hours, man." He paused for a moment, then said with surprising warmth in his voice, "But thanks for, well, letting me use you as a pillow."

Levi didn't know how to respond to this genuine gratitude, so he said, "You drooled on me."

They both looked down at Levi's shirt, stained by Eren's saliva.

"Yeah," said Eren (he was almost immune to embarrassment at this point). "I do that sometimes."

There was a bit of blood on Levi's shirt too, so Eren suggested that he take it off while Eren fetched him another one from his carry-on.

It was only when he came back to a shirtless Levi that he became hyper aware of their closeness.

"Are you going to stare at my abs forever or are you going to give me the shirt?" said Levi, amused at Eren's obvious admiration.

"So," said Eren after a pause, "how into guys are you?"

Levi stared back at him blankly, unbelieving.

There were a few ways he could respond, ranging anywhere from telling him to fuck off (his normal response) to making out with him right there in the bathroom stall (bloody nose and all).

He looked into Eren's pretty eyes, was reminded of his straightforwardness and inability to appreciate robots, and decided he liked the way the kid went from red-eared embarrassment to almost inappropriate levels of nonchalance.

"Pretty into guys," said Levi.

Eren nodded. "My name is 'Eren,' by the way. Not 'Shit-Boy.' You know, for a guy that won't use the bathroom because it's too dirty, you sure talk about poop a lot."

"Whatever, Shit-Boy," he said.

"Man, you are one kinky dude."

"And you're a depraved hormonal teenager."

"You've got nice abs," said Eren, as if that was his excuse.

"…You got a nice face."

This was the most odd and friendly flirting either of them had ever experienced.

"I'm not a teenager, by the way. I'm twenty-two."

"I'm thirty-four."

"Can I get your name?"

"Levi."

"What kind of movies do you like?"

"Am I stating my eHarmony profile?" said Levi sarcastically.

"Sure," said Eren with a grin. "Political affiliation?"

Levi rolled his eyes, but Eren thought he saw him smiling. Maybe.

"Democrat," said Levi.

"Religious?"

"No."

"Kids?"

"God no," said Levi.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a lawyer."

Eren nodded his head approvingly and looked like he was having far too much fun.

"The Singularity is coming, huh?" said Eren.

"Freaked you out, did I?"

Eren held pulled the tissues away from Levi's nose, which seemed to have stopped bleeding. He took some wipes and cleaned up the remaining blood.

"You and I could be the Singularity, if you know I mean," said Eren slyly.

"That doesn't make any sense and is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," said Levi.

"Yeah, but you're turned on, aren't you?"

"Shut the fuck up," said Levi gruffly, which translated to "Yes, you little shit. How dare you practically grind against my in this tiny shit hole of a bathroom," and Eren was frustratingly good at understanding Levi's language.

Levi held back his disappointment as Eren put more space between them, stepping out of the bathroom to leave Levi room to put on a clean shirt.

They returned to theirs seats, Levi shimmying in his too-tight shirt. Eren was taller than him, but Levi certainly had the wider torso.

Not that he didn't appreciate Eren's lean build. That was not at all the case.

Eren noticed the book on the floor that had dropped earlier and picked it up.

"Is this yours?" he said.

"Yeah," said Levi.

Eren read the summary on the back cover and flipped to the bookmarked page instead of handing it over to Levi. He began reading aloud in in a quiet voice, which surprised Levi, but he let him do it nonetheless.

It was nice. He couldn't remember the last time he had been read to, but this was soothing. He didn't always catch all the words Eren was saying, however, too distracted with catching the highs and lows and timbre of his voice. (It was't low and hard, like his own, but warm—a little sweet, even, without being sugary.)

Eren interjected with his own commentary once in a while, and Levi snapped out of his reverie.

"Is he about to have sex in the bathroom?" said Eren incredulously.

"What?" said Levi.

"The main character," Eren said like it was obvious. Levi realized then that he hadn't been paying attention for the past chapter.

"Oh, yeah."

Eren looked down at the book, then back up at Levi. "Man, you are a kinky dude."

Levi snorted. "You think bathroom sex is kinky? How innocent."

"_Hey_," said Eren defensively, "I'm fine with bathroom sex. We could have wild, dirty airplane bathroom sex right now—I mean, wild, _clean _airplane bathroom sex."

_Clean _airplane bathroom sex?

A boy after his own heart.

"Tempting," said Levi.

Eren smiled and began reading again when the plane jerked forward, the book flying out of his hand. He clung to Levi for dear life, and Levi wrapped his arm around Eren's back and gripped his shoulder tight.

The turbulence didn't last long, but it was longer than the first incident, and by the time it stopped Eren was left a heaving terrified mess.

"It's okay, it's all right," said Levi softly, "it's okay, it's okay, everything is fine."

Eren couldn't respond, only trying desperately to breathe normally again. Levi's firm grip was still on his shoulder and he could feel his strong arm against his back, and Eren felt just a little more stable.

They didn't speak after that. Eren calmed down and rested his head against Levi's shoulder, breathing in and out, in and out. Levi's arm was trapped uncomfortably behind Eren's back, but he hardly noticed.

They soon fell asleep listening to the sound of each other's exhales.

Eren woke up an hour later to see people standing up from their seats, ready to get off the plane. He turned his head to the side to see Levi still sleeping. He watched the rise and fall of his stomach, watched the lashes of his eyes curled only slightly upward. His breathing was so steady.

"Um," said Armin.

Eren's head whipped to the side, knocking with Levi's jaw.

Levi groaned in pain and opened in his eyes.

"Why do you always do this?" Levi said while he rubbed his jaw, his voice thick with sleep. Eren apologized profusely.

Levi glanced up to see two strangers staring in wonder at him and Eren, who, he just realized, looked like they were practically wrapped up in each other's arms.

Which they kind of were.

The blond boy just tilted his head while the tall girl squinted, unsure of whether to be concerned or not.

"This is Armin and Mikasa," Eren said to Levi while gesturing to them. "Guys, this is Levi."

They blinked.

"He's, uh, a lawyer."

They stared blankly at him.

"I gave him a bloody nose," said Eren finally.

"Ah," said Armin and Mikasa in unison, a look of understanding passing their faces. They looked at each other knowingly, then turned back to Eren and Levi.

"We'll meet you at the gate," said Armin as he and Mikasa picked up their luggage. Mikasa sized Levi up, looking him up and down as they walked away.

"My best friends," Eren explained. Levi nodded.

They sat awkwardly, bodies still close, before pulling away.

Eren rummaged through his bag to look for a pen so he could ask for Levi's number when Levi handed him a card.

"Your business card?" said Eren.

"My number."

* * *

It had been three weeks since that flight and Eren still hadn't called.

Levi sat in Hanji's office, a glass of scotch in hand.

"You're drinking awfully early," said Hanji. "It's only noon."

Levi only grunted in response and took another drink.

He should've have been as disappointed as he was, but he really had expected Eren to call. But now he supposed he'd never see the boy again. His chest felt heavy with the thought.

"Come on, let's go out lunch. Have some real food, instead of just booze and coffee," said Hanji.

Levi sighed. "Let me stop by my office and grab some things."

When he and Hanji approached his office, he saw someone standing in front of his door, staring at the golden placard.

"Attorney at Law," Eren read aloud to himself.

Levi's heart beat hard against his chest as he saw the familiar brown hair swept across a smooth forehead, a familiar rush of fondness overcoming him again. Eren turned from the door to meet his stare, and there were those same blue-green eyes.

Levi swallowed and said nothing, only watching Eren's lips curve into a beautiful smile.

"Hey," said Eren joyfully.

"Hey."

"Who is _this_?" said Hanji loudly, watching Eren with great interest.

"I'm Eren."

"This is Hanji," said Levi. She looked at him for an explanation, but Levi refused to look her in the eyes.

"How do you two know each other?" said Hanji.

"We met on a plane three weeks ago," said Eren.

"_Fascinating_," said Hanji.

"Yeah," said Eren. He noticed the folder she was carrying.

"Why do you have the hydrogen ion symbol on your folder?" said Eren with curiosity. "It looks familiar, but I can't remember…"

"Oh!" said Hanji with manic delight, "Are you familiar with it? It's the symbol for the Transhu—"

"Go find Erwin and invite him to lunch," said Levi as he pushed Hanji away. She looked at him and laughed, but complied for once and left them alone.

"What took you so long?" said Levi, but he couldn't find it in himself to be the least bit upset with Eren now.

"I lost your business card," said Eren, laughing. "I've spent the last few weeks Googling lawyers named Levi in this area. It was hell. But I guess I've found you now."

"I guess so."

"I was scoping out the bathrooms in this building earlier, you know. They're pretty clean. We could definitely have wild, clean bathroom sex."

Levi cracked a smile, and Eren couldn't breathe.

"Let me buy you dinner first."


End file.
